Today, Americans are facing an unprecedented assault on
their wellbeing and way of life. The
perpetrators of this assault are an axis of bad-intentioned nasties working
night and day to undo the most valuable parts of our lives and our
culture. They are the health-destroying
trio of big money processed foods, harmful chemicals that ooze through the
products we buy and use, and our own lack of willpower to steer ourselves clear
of the traps laid with sweets, soda, and tempting junk foods.
The silver lining of this bleak forecast is that we each
have the power to overcome the assault of health-robbing thieves by making just
a few simple adjustments to our daily habits.
While it is true that our unique genetic blueprints play a role in our
susceptibility to obesity, diabetes, and other disorders; we often have much
more control than many realize over if we personally will ever be afflicted by
them. If we can apply the simple steps
outlined below, risk factors for obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc. can be
dramatically reduced, and quality of life can be just as dramatically improved.
·
Processed junk foods have a strangle hold on the
standard American diet. They line the
shelves of our supermarkets and have forced themselves into the menus of
restaurants and even into our kids lunches at school. They provide very little nutrition compared
to whole natural foods. Their
concentration of vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients are
pathetically low. In the place of those
life-giving nutrients, we find additives, preservatives, artificial colors and
flavors, and many other ingredients that would never be found in your kitchen
at home. These foods expand your
waistline without building your health.
They have contributed to a modern nutritional paradox of a nation of
people who are overfed but undernourished.
The fix here is simple, if not exactly easy: replace these processed foods in your diet
with healthy, natural foods like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy
whole grains. While it may be tough to
replace all processed foods that you eat, it is easy to begin to replace a
few. Start small and build upon those
successes. Every cupcake given up in
favor of a healthier choice is a small victory in the fight for a healthier
future.
·
The additives in processed foods, along with
thousands of other household chemicals, saddle our bodies with a burden of the
removal of chemicals that are not beneficial to the health of our bodies. Some can be downright harmful. These chemicals are known by many as
“toxins”. Your body is in a constant
battle to remove these toxins to make way for healthy nutrients, and to avoid
any damage that can be done by their buildup.
Your body was made with its own waste disposal system specifically to
handle these toxins, primarily your liver and kidneys. However, the saturation of potentially
harmful chemicals has reached an unmanageable level in the modern world. Your body needs help to deal with this
overload of toxic junk. You can give
your body the boost it needs by regularly performing a healthy detoxification
process. Ideally, a detoxification is to
be completed at the change of each season.
Think of it as Spring cleaning for your body.
·
I have found in my years as a health
practitioner that most everyone already knows what needs to be done for better
health. We all know that natural, fresh
foods are better than processed. We all
know that getting a proper amount of sleep helps us feel and look better. We all know that exercise is a good
idea. The tough part is making the
choices to do what you already know is good for you. I repeat the advice that I gave
previously. Start small. Make one good choice today. Follow it up with more good choices
tomorrow. Repeat for the rest of your
life, and enjoy a brighter, healthier future.
Dr. Wallace V. Nelson, N.D. CNHP is a natural health
practitioner living in Salt Lake City,
Utah.
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